Draymond Green's Next Contract Could Be Quite The Kick To The Dick Of Golden State
(ESPN) – In the closing seconds of Game 4 of the NBA Finals, a giddy Draymond Green and Kevin Durant stood near the Golden State Warriors’ bench, high-fiving each other uncontrollably. The All-Star forwards have a personal ritual of double-tapping on high-fives after one of them makes a good play, thus the continuous slapping in this moment — which concluded in a massive hug — to celebrate their sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When the final buzzer sounded, Green, an NBA champion for a third time, burst toward midcourt to confiscate the game ball from rookie Jordan Belland then gave it to team security official Noordin Said.
“Don’t let go of this ball,” Green relayed to Said before going back to celebrate with his teammates. “Don’t let it go.”
Yes, Durant won Finals MVP, but it was Green who took home the game ball, and perhaps rightly so. Because if it weren’t for Green’s financial sacrifice three years ago, Durant playing in the Bay Area likely would have been a pipe dream, and securing three championships in four years likely would have been out of reach.
“I took less so we could go after KD,” Green told ESPN during the Finals. “I am a student of this game, and I studied the business side of it and the numbers, where some people don’t. They leave it up to their agent to do it.”
Not Green. It turns out he was the player who masterminded the Warriors’ dynasty that could have Golden State high-fiving for years to come.
First off, read that entire story because it’s fascinating, and a great story about Draymond Green the player and his importance to everything GS does. The one part I care about most, and the whole reason I’m writing this blog is this part right here
After the Warriors closed out the Cavaliers on Friday, owner Joe Lacob told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne: “All good things cost a lot. We’re going to try to sign Klay and Draymond to extensions this summer. They’ve earned the right to do whatever they want. Maybe they want to wait until free agency. I can’t control that. But we’ll do whatever we can to keep them.”
With two years and $36 million remaining on his deal, Green is eligible for a three-year, $72 million extension, which would start in 2020-21.
According to league sources, Green will turn the extension down when it’s offered. That’s because if he earns MVP, Defensive Player of the Year or All-NBA Team honors next season, he will be eligible for a super-max contract of five years, $226 million.
The thing with Draymond is a lot of people hate him. Maybe it’s rooted in jealousy, maybe it’s because of his dirty play history, maybe it’s because he talks shit. In my opinion though, Draymond is one of if not the most important Warrior. That sounds crazy to say about a team that also employs Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, but I cannot stress enough that the Warriors we all recognize are able to do what they do because of what Draymond gives them. I see people say that he would be nothing without GS, and I’m not sure I agree. Think of what his strengths are, defense, ball movement, high energy plays, and mental warfare. That would translate to any system in my opinion.
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The question then becomes, “OK Draymond is clearly valuable, but at what cost?” Is he worth that 5/$226M? I dunno, I mean aren’t championships worth it? We saw what happened to this GS team when they had to play a Finals without Draymond, they lost it. Yes, the Warriors are still really good when Draymond is off the floor, but he makes them that much better when he’s on it. Their overall net rating drops 2 full points when he sits, and their AST% nearly a full 10%. The Warriors score more points off turnovers and nearly twice as many fast break points when Draymond is on the court, and that’s where you see his defensive value turn into easy offense. When you look at what he does for their lineup flexibility and ball movement, he’s really the straw that stirs the drink. He can’t shoot, we know this, but he truly doesn’t have to in order to make a big time impact. He’s like a Marcus Smart on steroids.
With Klay’s extension to also consider, it’s not surprising that the Warriors have some tough decisions to make in the not so distant future. Chances are Draymond hits his qualifications for the supermax, and if the Warriors decide they don’t want to pay it, that means Green immediately becomes available on the open market for trade. Sort of like the Kawhi situation. I can think of a handful of teams that would LOVE to have the services of Draymond, whether it’s someone like MIL or WSH or DEN or POR or OKC or BOS etc, these are all teams and systems where Draymond would be a perfect fit if the Warriors ended up needing to move him. A guy who could heavily impact a game/series while not needing to shoot? Who doesn’t want that.
The whole Warriors situation reminds me of the old Pat Riley theory behind the idea of the “Disease Of Me”. The idea behind it was after the 1980 title, everyone became more selfish. They had already sacrificed to win the whole thing, and now that it happened everything started to change. Now things shifted more towards individual rewards. Players wanted a bigger role, they wanted more money, essentially taking them away from the sacrifice and buy in that got them to the top of the mountain in the first place. Everything we’ve heard from guys like Durant and now Green have my thinking about this. It would be shocking but not uncommon if an extremely unselfish team like GS ultimately was done in by the Disease Of Me.
Either way, while I don’t think Warriors fans have anything to worry about at the moment, these are real problems that could potentially force this dynasty to look pretty different in just a few seasons. Obviously the Warriors are the only team that can pay Draymond that sort of money, but when you have the championship experience he does and was such an important part of these Warriors titles like Green was, someone will come with a hefty offer if GS gives them the chance.
You never miss something until it’s gone, and I think that the Warriors realize while it may be a kick to the dick to keep him, it may be their best option to keep the titles coming.